Matthew Williams watched in amusement as Alfred and Arthur started fighting. Again. The hotel's conference room that their host, Ludwig, rented was full of squabbling Nations and Countries. Arguments could be heard throughout the room, political and personal problems brought up and solved, and grease spots were on everyone's copy of papers for the meeting. He and Francis were leaning against the wall at the back of the room, watching.

Matthew's polar bear, Kumajirou, was asleep in the Canadian's arms and was blissfully unaware of the headache-inducing chatter of the room.

"Mon cher," Francis sighed. "This is truly atrocious. Just look at them." The Frenchman waved his arms about the room.

"It's...stressful," whispered Matthew.

"It's too bad that little Mattie couldn't make it," Francis sighed. "Poor Alfred, all alone without his twin," he cooed.

"Papa, I'm Canada," he corrected. Kumajirou woke.

"Who is?"

"Me."

"Oh." The animal fell asleep once more.

"Oh, dear," France said, straightening. "I really must stop talking to myself." He walked away, oblivious to the whispered, "Wait!" coming from Canada. The blonde sighed and looked down at his companion.

"It's just you and me, now," he told the miniature bear. Kumajirou shifted in his sleep and smacked his lips a bit before settling. "Just you and me." The loneliness he felt at being abandoned was shoved into the back of his mind, and he felt his calm demeanor flood back into him. Matthew sighed and walked over to Alfred and Arthur.

"You git! You think you're all that because you are a bloody 'super-power'," Arthur hissed into his "son's" arrogant face. "The only thing keeping me from beating you to a bloody pulp is-"

"Is what, old man?" the American interrupted. "You can't do jack shit to me." He paused to bite into a burger angrily and opened his mouth to shout some more, and inevitably spray everyone with food, but Matthew put his hand on his shoulder.

"Brother."

"Mattie!" he yelled, swooping down and grabbing his brother into a hug, immediately forgetting about England and their fight. "You made it!"

"I was here the whole ti-"

"I was just telling Iggy over there why-"

"My name's not Iggy!" the indignant country yelled.

"Sure sounds like it to me!" America yelled back, turning and forgetting about his twin. Canada rolled his eyes and turned.

"If all you want to do is fight, I'll go somewhere else." But of course, no one heard him. No one ever did. Matthew adjusted his grip on Kumajirou and straightened his shoulders. "We're leaving, now."

"Who are you?"

"Canada, Kumajira. The one who feeds you and takes care of you."

"Oh."

Matthew smiled at his friend and then walked out of the double doors, into the deafening quiet of the hotel. The almost constant noise had caused him to have a headache, and he didn't feel well on top of that.

"Bed rest for me," he whispered, making his way to his room. "Then I'll go home." He nodded to himself and made his way, humming under his breath.

Ivan was, in a word, angry. His sisters stood on either side of him, and the three were watching the loud English Country fight with his obnoxious offspring from across the room.

"Brother," Natalia whispered in his ear. "We should get out of here."

He was half tempted to take her offer of escape. Yes, the girl had a crush on him and it scared him no end, but he was almost willing to take on her proposals over the imbeciles fighting . Almost.

"Нет, sister. It is almost over. We can wait."

"But, brother! I am bored!" she whined, stomping her foot.

Katyusha hushed her with a finger to her lips. "Sister, that is unbecoming of a Nation." She crossed her arms under her well-endowed breasts. "Besides, this gives us a chance to catch up with one another. My boss will not allow me to see Ivan here. But at this meeting, my boss has no authority."

"That is true. And how are you, sister?" the large Country asked, desperate for an excuse to not talk to Belarus.

"I am good, yet lonely. I have missed you, brother," Ukraine said, tears welling up.

"And I, you," Russia answered sincerely. He maybe fucked up in the head, but he loved his sisters dearly. Even the creepy one.

His sisters started gossiping with one another, and Ivan looked around the room. One did not become a super-power by remaining ignorant of one's neighbor's, after all. The woes were many, he learned, and fixes for them were scarce. He smiled lightly, purple eyes lighting up. Of course, this caused those around him to be silent for a beat, before returning to their various conversations.

"Brother, you are scaring them," Katyusha said, tugging on his sleeve slightly. He patted her hand, earning himself a pout from his youngest sister.

In order to avoid the death glare emitting from her, he glanced around the room for a distraction. He found it in the oft-looked over Canadian. The small boy was leaving, clutching his ever constant animal to his chest.

"Sisters, I am going now. I must speak with Canada." He left before Natalia could latch onto his arm and keep him from leaving, casting a thankful look at his other sister.

Slipping out of the room proved quite easy, and he sighed with relief as the doors shut behind him. Glancing around, he found the Canadian wandering through the hallway, swaying as if drunk.

"Comrade Matvey!" Russia called, startling Canada from his trance-like state of sickness and aches. He turned to see the intimidating Country bounding towards him, scarf fluttering behind him.

"Yes, Russia?" He felt sick, and just wanted to sleep. But if he could help Russia with whatever problem, he would. It's not like his bed was going to move.

"If my sisters, particularly Natalia, come to you wondering what we talked about, tell her that it is just your boss and my boss talking about a potential deal, and that you do not have specifics as of yet," Russia said, speaking quickly. He kept glancing over his shoulder.

"Why?" he asked. The larger Country glared at him and smiled, the fiery purple orbs swirling with a menacing aura.

"Just do it," he threatened, and then shoved past him to the elevators.

He would of course, simply because it seemed simpler to play along than to risk Russia's wrath. He couldn't help but wonder why, though. Is there really a deal that is really being talked about between the two bosses? If so, why wasn't he told? Sure, Canada was easily ignored, and even his boss had forgotten about him more than once, but he was always told of important things. Matthew shook his head. He was much too sick for this.

It wasn't the Country that was sick, though. It was his human body, he was pretty sure. Like every other human body in the world, his was susceptible to viruses and diseases. Sleep sounds really good right now, he though to himself. With that in his mind he made his way once more to his room, missing the glare sent his way by Belarus, who had snuck out of the conference room after her brother.

He collapsed on the bed, Kumajirou squirming as the man's weight suffocated him. Canada moved slightly, allowing the bear to escape. As soon as he was free, the country rolled back to his belly, the pressure of his body on his stomach feeling good and upsetting at the same time. It was a delicate balance of feeling nasty and somewhat normal that he relished.

Matthew's head pounded in time to his heart, and he groaned slightly at the pain. His stomach churned, and he leapt for the washroom, barely making it to the toilet. Bile burned his throat and mouth, and the involuntary movements of his body made him feel helpless. Tears squeezed out of his eyes as another wave of bile rose and he retched.

Finally, after what felt like years but in all actuality was a few moments, he finished. Matthew flushed and reached for his toothbrush. After putting paste on the bristles, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror that was hanging on the wall above the sink.

Matthew noted the pale skin and sunken cheeks, the dark smudges under his eyes. Those were the result of the lack of appetite and sleepless nights. He slowly started to brush his teeth, spacing out as he stared at himself in mirror.

The insomnia had settled in sometime last month. Matthew found himself waking up earlier and earlier, until finally, he fell asleep at ten at night only to wake up eight minutes later, wide awake. After the first sleepless night, which he spent laying in bed, trying to bore himself to sleep, he decided to take up drinking chamomile tea, which Arthur had told him relaxed the body, right before bed.

It didn't work, to say the least. After the second sleepless night in a row, Canada decided to just sleep whenever he could. That proved difficult, as he rose and slept with the sun. It was nearly impossible for him to sleep while the sun was out, which was useful in dealing with jet lag. In the past month or so, he figured he got maybe seventy hours of sleep. He didn't know for sure, but it was enough to keep him lucid, though if he was noticed more, Countries might have noticed.

He spat and rinsed his mouth out, and then went to lay down next to Kumajirou.

"Scoot," he said. The bear scooted, but settled down right next to him as soon and the Country stopped moving. Pulling his friend closer, Canada closed his eyes, hoping against hope that a few hours of sleep would take him. Just a few. Was that asking too much?

Apparently it was, Matthew admitted a few hours later. His eyes were itchy and burning, and his stomach growled at him. He sighed and rolled out of bed, watching his bear claim his warm spot on the bed. Pulling on his red hoodie and some shoes, he slipped out of his room, phone and key card in hand.

Glancing at his little flip phone told him three things; first, it was two thirty in the morning, second, that he had a missed call and third, he had seven texts. He rolled his eyes and stuck it in his hoodie pocket with the card. He smiled at the night desk person as he went outside. It was pleasantly cool out, and refreshing.

He had started walking on the fifth sleepless night, in the vain hopes that he would tire himself out. It hadn't, but it was a habit that he followed through with almost every night. There was something relaxing and invigorating about being the only one awake, and it felt like he was the only person in the world. Normally, in a roomful of people, this thought would depress him, but if he was truly by himself it wasn't a big deal. In fact, he craved it sometimes; being alone with his thoughts and worries.

A mile and a half later, he walked back into the hotel, greatly relaxed. He scored some breakfast, which was free, and walked with it back to his room.

Giving it to Kumajirou, who had slept through the night, he switched on the television. He clicked through channels, pausing for a second on a hockey game. He'd seen it before, though, and turned it off. His stomach still felt terrible, and his head ached.

Fuck it. He reached into his bag and pulled out sleeping pills. He would wake up late and feeling hung-over, and he wouldn't be able to drive for quite awhile, but his body needed rest. He swallowed the pills and a half hour later was passed out in the bed, the light of his phone going off in his pocket ignored.

A.N. Hello, there. This is my first-ever fic! This chapter is short simply so that I know whether or not it's worth it to continue it. If it is liked, I will write longer chapters for it! Please read and review...I put a lot of work into this, and would appreciate any and all criticisms so that I may grow as a writer. Thank you!

A.N. 2: Also, I've seen two spellings for two different words. "Matvey" and "Matviy" and "Matthew" and "Mathew". Please, let me know which one you like better, and if I need to, I'll go back and fix it! Thanks, and please read and review!